Deltona Chooses To Be City On 3rd Try

With 55,000 Residents, The City Will Be Second-largest In Volusia And Fifth In Central Florida.

September 6, 1995|By Derek Catron and Blake Fontenay of The Sentinel Staff

DELTONA — Voters decided Tuesday to make their southwest Volusia County community of 55,000 the fifth-largest city in Central Florida.

In Volusia, only Daytona Beach will be larger in population when Deltona officially becomes a city at midnight Dec. 31. Residents will return to the polls in November and December to elect a mayor and six City Council members for Deltona.

The new city's name was derived from DeLand and Daytona Beach.

The 93 percent residential community's status changed when - on the third try in less than a decade - business leaders pushing incorporation won Tuesday with nearly 55 percent of the vote.

''This didn't just happen overnight, and it didn't just happen because of one person,'' said Sue Sims, leader of the pro-city organization. ''It happened with a whole community getting involved.''

The final vote: 7,610 (54.8 percent) for incorporation and 6,216 against.

''We didn't convince enough voters to go to the polls to protect their interests,'' reacted Jim Kelly, head of the anti-city Deltona Preservation Committee.

Kelly also cited comparatively less spending and less time campaigning by his group, compared with that of pro-city forces.

John Beleskas, past president of the Deltona Republican Club, predicted the new city will be besieged with requests for more services.

''I already feel sorry for the mayor and City Council. It will be like the dog that chases the car and then finally catches the car. What will they do now?'' he asked.

Campaigners were worried that the turnout would be hurt by foul weather or the referendum's timing on the day after a long Labor Day weekend.

The rain stayed away until the last hour before polls closed at 7 p.m., but there was no remedy for the date. The election originally had been set for a Saturday by the committee that wrote Deltona's proposed charter, but was switched to Tuesday to conform with the standard date for Volusia city elections.

Of Deltona's 32,235 registered voters, 13,876 (43 percent) made their opinion known Tuesday. In Deltona's two previous incorporation votes, in 1987 and 1990, the turnout exceeded 50 percent.

Those prior referendums were close - each was decided by fewer than 1,000 votes with nearly identical margins of 54 percent against, 46 percent in favor.

Deltona's division over becoming a city parallels its history. Incorporation wasn't part of the plan in 1962 when brothers Elliot, Robert and Frank Mackle purchased 15,000 acres of Florida scrub along Interstate 4, midway between Orlando and Daytona Beach.

Nationwide advertising was targeted at retirees interested in ''relaxed suburban living,'' with a minimal need for citylike services.

But the combination of affordable housing and a quick commute to Orlando and Daytona Beach via three I-4 interchanges began to attract a growing number of younger families. They brought more needs and a higher expectation for city services.

With an estimated 55,000 population - and growing by more than 1,300 residents yearly - the city of Deltona will be larger than any city in Seminole, Osceola or Lake. The only larger Central Florida cities are Orlando, Daytona Beach, Melbourne and Palm Bay.

Tuesday's vote caps the 20-year tug-of-war between factions of residents - long-timers looking to keep the community as it was and those looking for more managed growth. In 1974, the Volusia County Council created a special taxing district to provide citylike services in Deltona.

Today, the Deltona Municipal Services District Advisory Board advises the Volusia County Council on matters pertaining to Deltona. Its members are appointed - not elected - and final decisions regarding Deltona rest with the County Council members - five of whom don't live in Deltona.

Pro-city leaders hammered on that issue - the need for local control by locally elected officials who live in Deltona.

A study commissioned by the County Council last year concluded that Deltona could become a city without raising taxes, provided it keeps services near the present level.